SaintJackoInHurworth

Interesting perspectives there. I am particularly interested in your view of Ballard and Dibling. As it happens, I went to the Middlesbrough U21 v Saints B fixture last Friday and saw the two of them play. Ballard played from the start and scored two goals; Dibling came on as a sub late in the game. I was also keeping an eye on other players to see who caught my eye. I would say that I could tell that a lot of the players had bags of potential but were clearly a long way from being ready for the first team just yet. The only player that in any way stood out was in fact Dom Ballard. His touch on the ball, technical ability and awareness seemed much better than other players and while I wouldn't say he was a dominant force in the game (he actually drifted in and out) you could tell he was one who could potentially be getting close to ready to make some appearances for the first team. Dibling on the other hand didn't have much time to do anything, but sadly didn't really show much in the few minutes that he was on the pitch, apart from one chance where he went close. That is not to judge or criticise or suggest that he doesn't have the ability of course - just that in this particular game he didn't show anything special. For me other notable players included Sam Amo-Ameyaw and Kamari Doyle; Jack Turner and Luke Pearce did ok too, so it is interesting to see that both have now gone out on loan. I also took note of Leon Pambou - though more for his immense size than for any partticular outstanding play - he is quite a unit!!

I'm still hoping we are secretly in negotiations to sign the leading scorer from Argentina's Primera Division in 2022. I won't hold my breath! I also won't say his name in case someone from another club cottons on to the idea!

Not been linked - just a bit of fan research!

I'm going with Mateo Retegui - top scorer in Argentina last season on loan from his Boca Juniors to Tigre. He outscored the strikers from Boca Juniors! Only 23 and looks to be well within our price range.

I know we are all here looking for news of actual rumours - especially about a striker. Hopefully we will get some news soon! In the meantime (and in the absence of the old HCDAJFU thread), I was thinking like others have done about players that we could sign and, having seen how well Alcarez played last night (for a debut at least), it caused me to reflect that in some ways there is a similarity of style between Argentinian football and what we see regularly in the EPL. Consequently, I was wondering if there were any quality strikers we could sign from Argentina and on researching this I discovered that the top goalscorer in Argentina in 2021 was a guy called Mateo Retegui who was actually on loan from top Argentinian side Boca Juniors to Tigre, yet actually outscored the strikers at Boca Juniors! He is only 23 years old and was previously an under 19 and under 20 Argentine international. I wonder whether HCDAJFU? Here is a YouTube video of his skills and goals:

Djenepo was one of our better players tonight and when he is at a his best he is great. I do think Jones is beginning to get the best out of him, so I would like him to be given a chance. However, with AMN, I think you are right - now that we have Lavia back, have signed Alcarez (who I thought was great tonight) and could also be signing Hjulmand and with Diallo also showing improvement, I don't think we need AMN. As we all keep saying the priority has got to be a striker. Are there no 'outside the box' options to explore? Someone signed a striker from the USA the other day didn't they? Are we keeping an eye on the US Soccer scene? I'm sure we are! What about Australia? Japan? India even?! In fact I just did a quick bit of research on up and coming Indian international strikers and came across the name Lallianzuala Chhangte. He looks pretty decent and prolific. No idea whether he would be considered good enough for the Premier League though!! Which I guiess is the big issue with a lot of these players!

Most of them will play left back or right back - left back in the changing rooms or right back behind the goal.

So, I'm going to put this out there again! It appears that we have been linked with all of the following - most of whom are strikers or wingers. Have I missed anyone? How many players do we think we are going to sign before the end of the window? Just one forward or a winger and strriker? Will we sign anyone in defence? Name Club Position Terem Moffi Lorient (France) Striker Daizen Maeda Celtic Striker Nicolas Jackson Villareal Striker Danny Ings Aston Villa Striker Mystery Striker(!) ? Striker Beto Udinese Striker Oscar Estupinan Hull City Striker Antoine Semenyo Bristol City Striker Jérémy Doku Rennes (France) Winger Kian Breckin Man City Winger Carlos Borges Man City Winger Rory MacLeod Dundee Utd Winger Michael Keane Everton CB James Bree Luton Town RB Rick Karsdorp Roma RB Also, any ideas whether the comments made about a 'Mystery Striker' are anything we should be excited about? Might we suddenly hear about an exciting signing just before it goes through? Or was this just a reference to one of the other strikers/wingers that we are rumoured to be looking at? One final thought is whether there is any substance in the rumours that we may have decided we don't necessarily need to sign a striker? I'm dubious about it myself, but I am also wondering what signing another striker is going to mean for Sekou Mara, Jimmy-Jay Morgan, Dom Ballard and Tyler Dibling. Might there be the possibility that we may give some of them more opportunities once the window has closed?

Just sifting through the transfer news for Saints that is out there, here is a summary: Name Club Position Terem Moffi Lorient (France) Striker Daizen Maeda Celtic Striker Nicolas Jackson Villareal Striker Danny Ings Aston Villa Striker Mystery Striker(!) ? Striker Beto Udinese Striker Oscar Estupinan Hull City Striker Jérémy Doku Rennes (France) Winger Kian Breckin Man City Winger Carlos Borges Man City Winger Rory MacLeod Dundee Utd Winger Michael Keane Everton CB James Bree Luton Town RB Rick Karsdorp Roma RB There may be a couple I have missed. For example, I seem to remember theer being another full-back that we were linked to earlier on, but I can't find the details.

Unlike far too many people on here I am not about to slit my wrists just yet! That's not to say I don't have concerns - of course I do! I am concerned at our lack of striker, at the failure of the squad to adapt their playing style to a way that will deliver a win or at least a draw against what is at best a slightly above average Brighton team, at the failure to replace Romeu so that we have adequate cover for Romeu; I am concerned at the training video which showed a manager with no rapport with his team. Yes, I am concerned, but things can and may turn around: Jones may yet build a good rapport with the squad and understand which players are good and which are inadequate; he may also get to grips with suitable tactics which will work with this squad and deliver the results and performances that we all wish for. Sports Republic may be successful in buying a decent striker and defensive midfield cover - maybe a decent, experienced defensive leader too. Some of our younger players may make the transition to the first team and deliver something new and exciting. Our current run of fixtures may allow us to get some decent results, which may allow us to build some confidence. Of course, there is no guarantee that any of these things will happen, but having seen what a disaster it seems to have been to sack Hasenhuttl, I don't think we need to rush into that course of action again in a hurry. Instead, let's get behind the team and manager and hope that things will improve. If they don't and we find that we are again in the same sort of situation we had with Pellegrino then obviously the board will have to act - but now is not the time to do that. One thing I would also say, though, is that we as supporters can be prone to believing every rumour and every comment about the worst things happening in the club. The fact is that for the most part we haven't a clue what is going on and actually things may be more positive than we fear. I, for one, hope this is the case. COYS

Surely, past record has got to count for something, as has style of football and ability to develop young players. On that basis Dyche cannot be counted - his style of football and dependance on older players is just the complete antithesis of a Saints manager!! Similarly, Jones record of failing miserably at every other club he has managed apart from Luton has got to count against him. Gallardo on the other hand has an incredible record and I agree with the earlier post that getting him would be a coup. Neevrtheless, if he really has been linked with Man Utd and Barcelona and turned them down then the chances of him coming to Saints have got to be pretty slim. Tedesco also looks a possible alternative. Beyond Gallardo and Tedesco, I wonder about Javi Gracia. He did pretty well at Watford and took them to their highest-placed Premier League finish, improving on the success of Marco Silva who is doing so well at Fulham this season. It was a total joke that he got sacked at Watford, just because they had a bad start to the following season. He would have turned that round almost certainly and I think he could turn Saints round too. I think he is also a free agent at present.

I've always been a defender of Hassenhuttl, but I must convince my support for him is beginning to significantly waver. Let me put this in context: I've been concerned for some time that there are too many fans too quick to sling dirt at our players and manager. I definitely feel that some of our poor support for the club has had a bearing on our many failings and that failure on our part has not helped the manager and players to gain confidence in what they are seeking to do. I've been supportive of Ralph because he has been so much better than what came before. Whatever anyone may feel about Ralph, he is definitely an improvement on Hughes and Pellegrino and the football we have played under him has until recently always been better thgan under Puel, albeit, Puel did achieve better results - in large part due to having a better squad. Our squad has had many limitations throughout the whole of the Hassenhuttl era and so it is hard to place the whole blame at his door. I have serious concerns about who we might get to replace Ralph - Parker? Redknapp? Allardyce? Pulis? No thanks to all of those! Benitez? Not really convinced. Tuchel? Maybe but doubt he would come to Saints - and there are many others who would fall into that same category. However... we have changed our coaches and we have revamped the squad (albeit with a failure to recruit a good goalscorer and we have lost our key midfield lynchpin of many seasons) and our results have not improved. This is beginning to undermine my support for Ralph. There is no question that performances and results need to begin to improve soon. If they don't I think the club will have no choice but to spin the wheel, sack Ralph and try to recruit someone else who maybe can do what he has failed to do. If Ralph manages to keep his job over the next few days, I believe the matches against West Ham and Bournemouth will have a significant bearing on his future (none of us expect anything other than defeat against City so, unless we avoid defeat that match probably doesn't make much difference unless it is another 9-0 or similar).

I think it maybe time for a reality check here.... Ralph Before he was our manager we were awful and he transformed the way we play so that we were able to compete in games more often. He has enabled the development of youth and a pathway for them to the first team like no other manager. He is, however, far from perfect and there are better managers. Recently, he seems to have begun to doubt his own methods - which is both a good thing and a bad thing. We have begun to be better at varying our approaches to games which can make it harder for the opposition to know how we will play. On the other hand, we aren't as good as we used to be at what we do well i.e. pressing. Better managers are very hard to attract to a club like Southampton Our transfers We have brought in more players than we have in many transfer windows including some players with real promise like Bella-Kotchap and Lavia. Some of the new players will take longer to adjust than others and we cannot expect them all to be instant world-beaters. Younger players bring an amazing potential and energy; however they also bring inconsistency and are less good at the basics when we need to graft. Maitland-Niles - it has been clearly said that he is not ready and that he will be used when he is ready. I don't hear too many people complaining that we did that with Salisu (who still has much room for improvement). He will have his day! The failure to land a quality striker or winger (or both) who is ready to compete at the our level is a massive concern. Last night's performance Was clearly awful. Is just one match, though it follows another inept performance in the previous game. Nevertheless, it is not time for panic stations yet. Elyounoussi I don't understand how a player who was so out of favour can suddenly become so in-favour. I understand that his work-rate is much better than it used to be and that is great - but it does not transform him into a quality winger. The fact is that he demonstrates less flair and ability to dribble and create opportunities than most other wingers we have had in recent times. Nevertheless, it would be unfair to blame him for last night - the whole team were hopeless with the exception of only a couple of players. Djenepo Was one of our better players last night (at least in the first half) and is one of the few players who have stepped up this season. Romeu Losing him feels like a massive loss and we could have done with him last night. Don't forget, however, that his performance levels were beginning to drop with age noticeably last season and we have got to move beyond him. Sadly, we only replaced Romeu with one player - Lavia. We still have the same issue of not having a backup in that position.

Great to note all these northern-based supporters! As my name suggests I am based in the village of Hurworth near Darlington. Previously I also lived in Northallerton and in Wakefield. I grew up in Hythe and also lived in Farnborough and Basingstoke. I am sure I will have met some of you who are part of Northern Saints. I tend to attend a few matches each season - mostly up North, though in recent years I have tried to take my youngest daughter to a match at St Marys each season when visiting family. To answer the questions about Northern Saints... The club has a presence on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2450705627 The club itself can be found on Google Groups at https://groups.google.com/g/northernsaints And... to answer another question: As well as Northern Saints, there are a number of other regional Saints groups - some of them with official links to the club like Northern Saints. Personally, I know a couple of other Saints fans in the Darlington area - one lives on my estate and the other is also a member of Northern Saints with whom I sometimes go to matches.

Maybe we should have a sweepstake. Everyone selects a striker that the club could look at and suggest him on here. First one to name a player gets that player as their nomination but only one nomination is allowed. If the club buys that player, the person who nominated them is the winner. Anyone who knows the winner should buy them a pint next time they see them in the pub. I'd go for the player I mentioned earlier: Vangelis Pavlidis. Here is his YouTube video: Hehe!!!

Following the failure to sign Gakpo after Leeds annoying intervention I guess we are all wondering if anyone else might suddenly pop up as being linked with Saints. I imagine it will be some left-field up and coming player who has recently been called up as an international having got some good goal scoring stats with his club. It could be someone like Vangelis Pavlidis who is near the top of the goal scoring stats in Holland: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vangelis_Pavlidis No idea if he is any good, but I am sure the club will have scouted players like him. Let's hope they can pull something out of the bag!

I think the Gakpo situation is all a perfect example of why the club like to do things in private: we have a well-established and successful recruitment policy which identifies good players while some other clubs like Dirty Leeds just pounce on deals being made by other clubs and use the money saved to make a higher offer. It seems to me that the deal was going through until Leeds decided to interfere and that just left the player unsure so that he has decided he can't cope with all the hassle. Leeds and PSV don't come out of this with a great reputation if you ask me. If we don't manage to save the deal then I kind of hope he stays put and PSV get into financial difficulties as a result!!

We have been linked this morning with Man City striker Adedire Mebude: Spurs, Newcastle and PSV are also linked with him.

I believe that if Romeu is leaving (as seems likely) then we will definitely bring in either Garner or Maitland-Niles. I think/hope it will be Maitland-Niles and feel that our formation tonight would have been a great advert for how he could fit into the Saints set-up. He also provides an extra option if needed as full-back cover. I am loving the rumours about Gakpo and would love it if we sign him. It seems he is definitely moving somewhere and we have been in the driver's seat. However, I am a little concerned with the increasing number of clubs being linked with him but a lot of the links seem fairly weak, so I am hopeful we will be the ones to sign him. Our interest in Caleta-Car is also exciting, but I think it's dependant on quick progress in negotiating to sign him and in selling Bednarek. I hope we don't sell Bednarek without a replacement. Unfortunately, this all still leaves us with no clear link to a striker. My guess is that they have realised that it is a choice between either an average striker and winger or one good player in one of those positions and I think we have decided to go for Gakpo rather than Ramos. I don't think Broja was ever seriously on the cards as he is neither creative enough nor a 15+ goals-a-season striker. It would be amazing to sign AMC, Gakpo, DCC and also a striker and a full-back, but I doubt very strongly that it will happen!!

So, if we sign both Maitland-Niles and Caleta-Car will we have the most double-barrelled names in any one football club ever?!! Bella-Kotchap Walker-Peters Ward-Prowse Caleta-Car Maitland-Niles We could also technically include Lyanco Neves-Vojnovic in this list. That ignores the B Team player Zuriel Otseh-Taiwo and under 18 players Fedel Ross-Lang and Ryan Chavez-Munoz. For good measure you could also include Lexi Lloyd-Smith from the women's team and the head of women's football Marieanne Spacey-Cale!

Some of the links to Saints this summer have been fascinating and the link to Gakpo seems one of the more amazing ones. By the sounds of things (and I have no idea personally) it would be great if true, but it sounds too good to be true! It sounds like a smokescreen to me. I would anticipate we are more likely to sign someone like Vangelis Pavlidis who scored a decent number of goals in the Eredivisie last season and is a Greek international. At 23 he would be a very Saintsy signing!!

Who said anything about him being back up? He is clearly a much better central defender than Salisu, so I would see Salisu as back-up - albeit his frequent indisciplined runs up the wing last season may suggest he would be better employed in that role anyway! As others have said, if we sell Bednarek, I would be worried about having Lynaco or Stephens as back up. Give Salisu the time to develop as back-up and maybe he can develop into the central defender some people believe he already is.

So... just a thought... there are rumours saying that Bednarek is in talks to sign for Aston Villa. Meanwhile there are also rumours that Tyrone Mings has fallen out with Steven Gerrard. Is there any possibility that Mings (a former reject of the Saints academy) and Bednarek might be involved in a swap deal?

There seem to be far too many people on this forum that believe this rubbish and I don't understand why! A look at the statistics may help: Goals conceded in 2021-22 while playing in matches where they started or played more than 45 minutes: Bednarek: 51 goals conceded in 31 games = 1.65 goals per game Salisu: 57 goals conceded in 34 games = 1.68 goals per game Lyanco: 19 goals conceded in 9 games = 2.11 goals per game Stephens: 19 goals conceded in 9 games = 2.11 goals per game Valery: 7 goals conceded in 5 games = 1.4 goals per game Those statistics actually suggest that Valery had the best defensive stats last season of these four, but it must be noted that in most of those games he played as part of a centre-back three rather than a two. It is also worth noting that Salisu's stats would be slightly worse if we were to count the goal conceded against Spurs after he was sent off. What is absolutely clear is that Lyanco and Stephens had far worse stats than Bednarek and even Salisu's stats were slightly worse than his. With this in mind, I reiterate the point that while Bednarek is not a great defender the obscene way that he has been derided by some is completely over the top and we should not be rushing him out of the door until we are completely sure that we have adequate defensive cover. FWIW, I am extremely hopeful that Bella-Kotchap will prove to be the first genuinely quality central defender that we have had since Van Dijk and I hope that Salisu will also continue to improve.

Ten days to go and despite being linked with a number of players, none of the rumours seem to be very strong that we might sign those players - in most cases the players seem to have been linked with other clubs who would seem more likely to be successful in signing them. Is this where Saints suddenly make a left-field signing (or several) completely out of the blue? I certainly hope so!!!